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Lewis Hamilton gets immediate redemption shot as third Ferrari test approaches

Lewis Hamilton is set to move past his recent crash in Barcelona as he prepares for a significant opportunity to test Ferrari’s 2024 car during a Pirelli tyre test this week. Last month, Hamilton was warmly welcomed by Ferrari when he visited their Maranello factory and Fiorano test track. His first official test behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car saw a large turnout of passionate Ferrari fans, known as the Tifosi, who were eager to witness the seven-time World Champion’s performance. Although Hamilton encountered some challenges with the pedals in the SF-23 car, which had been used by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the 2023 F1 season, the team managed to fix the issue before their next test session.

However, Hamilton’s pre-season testing didn’t go entirely smoothly. During a session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last Wednesday, he was involved in a crash in the final sector of the track, which led to extensive damage and repair work on the car. The initial reports pointed to a crash at Turn 12, a relatively slower right-hand turn, but more recent information suggests the incident occurred at the high-speed final corner, which had been redesigned ahead of the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix. The severity of the crash and the lengthy repair process indicated that Hamilton hit the barriers with significant force. Fortunately, Hamilton emerged from the crash unharmed, though Ferrari has not officially commented on the incident.

This week, Hamilton will have a chance to get back on track as he and Leclerc participate in a two-day Pirelli tyre test, set to begin on February 4, 2025. While F1 regulations restrict teams from using current cars for testing, allowing only cars that are two years old or older for such sessions, Hamilton will test the SF-23, the most recent car available to Ferrari for these tests. However, for the Pirelli test, Ferrari has developed a modified version of the 2023 SF-24 car. This modified version, often referred to as a ‘mule car,’ is designed to simulate the characteristics of F1 cars expected in 2026, especially to help Pirelli develop tyres for the new regulations. The SF-24 mule car will have narrower tyres, with a 25mm reduction in front width and 30mm narrower rear tyres, though the 18-inch wheel rims from the current car design will remain unchanged.

The mule car will also be running with an extreme low-downforce setup to simulate the performance of the 2026 cars, which will have different aerodynamic requirements compared to current vehicles. This type of mule car testing isn’t unusual in F1, with Ferrari using a similar approach back in 2016 when Sebastian Vettel drove an adapted version of the 2015 SF15-T car to help Pirelli with tyre development for the 2017 cars. Despite the modifications, the mule cars do not always replicate the full characteristics of the next generation of cars, and Pirelli admitted that the 2015 mule car used in 2016 was still around 20% short of the required downforce for the 2017 cars.

After this week’s Pirelli tyre test, there may be a chance for Ferrari to extend their stay in Barcelona to compensate for the lost test time that Leclerc experienced due to Hamilton’s crash. According to new rules for 2025, drivers are limited to a total of 1,000 kilometres of Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) over four days, and while Hamilton has already used up three of his allocated days, Leclerc has only complet